


it’ll be a sleepless night, then

by sometimesheroesdie



Series: another level of salvation [2]
Category: DARLING In The FRANXX (Anime)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Kissing at Midnight, Mild Hurt/Comfort, i am such hirotwo TRASH, is the only thing i can write, they just kiss it doesn't go any further than that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 17:02:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14938313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sometimesheroesdie/pseuds/sometimesheroesdie
Summary: a quiet interlude at midnight.[ in which zero-two remembers hiro's horns, and takes the blame. ]





	it’ll be a sleepless night, then

**Author's Note:**

> HI IT IS ME BACK WITH HIROTWO HURT/COMFORT i should try writing something else asdfghjkl lol anyway !! episode 21 is coming out tomorrow and i am excite!! finished episodes 19 and 20 today, they felt kinda rushed and messy so i'm hoping 21 will be better !! 
> 
> i still have no idea what is the setting for my fics or where it fits in the timeline oh god

Zero-Two lays curled under the blankets and in Hiro’s arms. The dimming candlelight from the window illumines the room dully, and some of the light pools in the hollows and contours of Hiro’s resting face. She smiles a little, observes how his dark lashes catches the candlelight and reflects it back like stars.

Watching someone sleep is . . . something she has never done before, and it’s something she doesn’t need to do, but with Hiro she can’t tear her eyes away. Sleep softens the sharp edges of his cheeks; he looks childlike and boyish by the half-light of the moon.

His eyes crack open a bit, and with a smile he asks, “Why are you staring at me?”

“Because you’re really cute when you’re sleeping, darling,” Zero-Two answers honestly. He laughs and rubs at his eyes, a small yawn leaking from his mouth. 

Her chest weighs heavy with warmth, her heart trembles so violently she fears it will crack. Something about this moment strikes her as so incredibly precious. All the stress of their daily lives: piloting Strelizia with her, managing the squad . . . it all laid so heavily on his slender shoulders. 

These quiet interludes they have at midnight may be his only escape.

“Zero-Two?”

“Oh - Sorry, I was spacing out.”

Hiro smiles sleepily. “You couldn’t sleep?”

She snuggles closer, and Hiro drapes an arm over her, catching her in his warm embrace. Feeling his fingers smooth down her unruly pink tresses, she speaks, “I couldn’t.” She exhales. “I operate on very little sleep most of the time, anyway, darling. I’ll be fine.”

He frowns. “Still, you need to sleep more, Zero-Two.” She smiles again, at his gentle cajoling. “We’ll try to get a full night’s rest tomorrow, okay? Promise?”

She giggles and says, “I promise.” The fingers she runs down the side of his face are light. “Don’t frown so much, darling. You’ll get wrinkles.”

“Okay,” he tells her with a smile. A chaste brush of lips to lips, and Zero-Two exclaims, “That’s the kind of smile that lights up your face, darling!” and Hiro merely kisses her again.

They lay together entwined for a while. She presses her cheek against his forehead and something pokes her skin. “Ow,” she says indignantly. “Wait. Actually . . . ”

“Zero-Two? What’s wrong?”

She disentangles herself from his arms and pushes his bangs away, and - and there they are. She’d forgotten. His horns are still small, compared to hers, but definitely growing.

Something dark pushes against the airy, bright bubble in her chest. That’s guilt. And the thing turning her lips down, taking away her smile, is shame. This melancholic blend is familiar, and she averts his gaze. Hiro grasps her wrists gently, tells her, “I like these a lot, actually.” 

She lifts an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“It’s a reminder that we are equals. And I feel like I can understand you more fully now, with them.” He bumps his forehead against hers, his tiny horns touching her grown ones. The sweetest smile on his face. As if to say, “I stand with you.” 

A wide smile breaks across her face and she flings herself onto her darling. “I love you,” she whispers. “You mean everything to me. And then some.”

His eyes glitter, candlelight or the beginning of tears. The wetness on his lashes catches the light and shines like stars. Zero-Two kisses him, slow and hot and gentle. Hiro’s hands rest on her waist, running fingers down her sides, and he leaves a murmured _I love you _on the skin of her neck.__

__The candleflame flickers out and they’re still marking their love on each other with whispered words and warm breath._ _

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! :D 
> 
> | [my tumblr](sometimesheroesdie.tumblr.com)  
> | [my instagram](https://www.instagram.com/sometimesheroesdie/?hl=en)


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